Son of football coaching legend Schnellenberger accused of patient brokering

Jorge Milian @caneswatch

Thursday

Nov 8, 2018 at 6:05 PMNov 9, 2018 at 9:21 AM

Timothy Schnellenberger and his wife face two dozen counts. They say they received 'incorrect legal advice.'

WEST PALM BEACH — The son and daughter-in-law of former FAU and University of Miami coach Howard Schnellenberger are facing two dozen counts of patient brokering, according to documents obtained by The Palm Beach Post.

Timothy Schnellenberger, 50, and Anyssa Ellen Schnellenberger, 46, are accused of receiving more than $150,000 in kickbacks for referring sober-home patients to two drug-testing centers, according to the documents, which are probable-cause affidavits submitted Oct. 30 by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. Timothy Schnellenberger owns Recovery Boot Camp on Southwest Fifth Avenue in Delray Beach.

Records show the Schnellenbergers were arrested by Monroe County sheriff's deputies on Oct. 31 and face 22 counts of patient brokering and two counts of conspiracy to commit patient brokering. A family spokeswoman said the Schnellenbergers turned themselves in to Monroe County law enforcement.

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Under Florida law, it is illegal for a lab or a health-care provider either to offer or to pay a sober home or a drug-treatment center a commission, bonus, or bribe for the referral of patients.

The urine of people who are battling drug addiction and who have health insurance is worth potentially millions of dollars to the operators of labs, sober homes and treatment centers. A Post investigation found that insurance companies often are billed up to $5,000 for a single urine drug screen. Those with addictions may be tested three or more times per week; even partial reimbursement from insurance companies can return $1,500 to $2,000 per sample.

As of Thursday evening, the Palm Beach County Jail website did not include booking information on either Schnellenberger. The Schnellenbergers' arrest reports from Monroe County showed they were each held in lieu of $72,000 bail but later were released.

Timothy Schnellenberger released a statement Thursday in which he attributed the legal trouble he and his wife face to "incorrect legal advice" from attorneys and "since we had no reason to doubt their expertise, we relied and acted upon their counsel."

"First and foremost, let me be clear when I say – nothing that we have been charged with was done purposefully, knowingly or maliciously," Schnellenberger said.

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According to the documents, authorities say Anyssa Schnellenberger opened a marketing company in 2016 that received kickbacks from two Delray Beach drug-testing centers — Impact Q Testing and Zenith Health Services — for patients referred by Recovery Boot Camp.

According to arrest reports, Impact Q Testing paid Anyssa Jordan Marketing Group, or AJMG, $75,000 from June 30, 2016, until September 1, 2016, for referrals.

That was followed by $77,000 in payments to AJMG from Zenith Health Services from December 8, 2016, to June 6, 2017, according to the reports.

The alleged criminal activity was conducted before the Schnellenbergers wed on Nov. 13, 2017.

One witness said Timothy Schnellenberger "blatantly asked about commissions" for patient referrals, and another witness said he often complained the paybacks that AJMG received weren't big enough, according to the reports.

John Skeffington, the president of Zenith Health Services, told investigators he would go to Timothy Schnellenberger's Delray Beach home every Saturday and deliver a check made out to AJMG.

In his statement, Schnellenberger said that he and his family were "devastated" by the arrests while adding he and his wife "look forward to presenting our side of the story and moving on as soon as possible."

The arrests were made as part of a crackdown by the State Attorney's Office's Sober Homes Task Force to stop sober-home owners and drug-treatment centers from profiting off their patients' insurance claims and those who receive kickbacks for referring patients.

In a Palm Beach Post story from Jan. 23, Timothy Schnellenberger talked about his own struggles and that of his brother Stephen with substance abuse.

"The experience of watching what my parents went through drove me to help other addicts and their families," Schnellenberger said.

In January, Schnellenberger, along with his parents, opened the Schnellenberger Family Foundation, whose mission is to provide financial support for families of addicts.

"Beverlee and I are just so proud of Tim," Howard Schnellenberger said at the time. "He's a self-made man and now just wants to help others."